“I wish I could be free and live without fear; I wish we had well lit streets in my neighbourhood; I wish the neighbourhood was well patrolled, and I didn’t need to be afraid of the police. It would...

Twenty years on from the landmark commitment made in Beijing in 1995 to empower women and to achieve gender equality, governments have met in New York to review progress on the agreement and have today adopted a new political declaration at the UN.

The Commission for the Status of Women takes place in New York from 9-20 March to review the agreement made in Beijing in 1995 that drew out a road map for the realisation of women’s rights and gender equality. In 1995 feminist groups and women’s rights organisations were at the forefront of defining this agenda. Today, the Political Declaration that the UN will endorse on the 9th March was drafted without feminist groups, women’s rights organisations and women human rights defenders.